Why SEO Pros Should Be on Reddit

There is no discussion necessary when it comes to the entertaining merits of Reddit. The front page of the Internet has a lot of subpages, to be sure, and depending on which page/s you frequent, you will have various experiences. The bottom line is that you can find yourself browsing and reading Reddit for hours on end without realizing it. The epitome of a timesink.

But, aside from the entertaining value of the site, there are actually a lot of benefits to spending time on Reddit, especially for SEO professionals. It is no secret that search engine optimization, or SEO, has received a lot of flak over the years. While there are legit practices, there are some rotten apples (whether it’s an SEO company or individual) that have tainted the scene.

That is no reason to totally ignore SEO, though. The niche still has its merits and there are SEO pros who are actually good at what they do without having to resort to shady practices. If you’re one of these SEO pros, where do you go to interact with likeminded people? More so, where do you go to exchange ideas with people who are not shady at all?

Believe it or not, the answer is Reddit.

I wouldn’t have been too convinced myself, but Yurly Yarovy presented a very good argument as to why SEO pros should be on Reddit. Granted, he co-created a subreddit called Big SEO, so one might argue it’s all about self-promotion, but spending a little time on there proves his point.

You want honesty? Go to Reddit. Whatever topic you’re wanting to discuss, the chances are you will receive some of the most brutally honest feedback on Reddit. Whether you’re looking to talk about SEO or cats, you’ll see that no punches are held back; and if you really want to learn, then you should have nothing to fear from honesty.

The people are real. Mostly.

One of the main problems online is that there are so many fake identities. I don’t have to tell you some people are experts at creating these identities en masse for SEO purposes, do I? Well, on Reddit, you are more likely to interact with people who actually do exist. And I think that’s one important thing in improving your craft.

Keep up with the changing landscape.

The digital landscape changes so quickly that it can be hard to keep up. What worked brilliantly a few months ago might be useless today. Your audience yesterday might not react the same way next month. How do you keep tabs on this flux? One way is to be active on Reddit. The community is rife with smart people who are not afraid to voice their opinions, and the chances that you can keep a tab on the pulse of your audience are rather high.

Reddit is fun, sure, but it doesn’t mean you can’t put it to practical use while you’re at it.

This post was written by Eric Melillo, who works for an SEO New York firm. He spends a lot of time on Reddit, not only for work, but also to enrich his knowledge of trivia to improve his social skills.